Cauliflower Red Lentil and Potato Curry
Updated Feb 18, 2022, Published Jan 02, 2016
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Cauliflower, Red Lentil and Potato Curry is spicy, hearty and delicious! Red lentils cook quickly and it’s super easy to vary the veggies in this Indian-inspired dish!
Hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s celebration! My deepest and sincere appreciation to all of you for your support, feedback and for following From A Chef’s Kitchen! Here’s to a great year ahead!
Recently I’ve noticed a common theme in my Facebook feed and in other food-related stories: Predicted food trends for 2016 which are always fun to read.
The predictions are all over the board, but one I’ve seen in numerous places is that lentils will hit it big this year. In fact, the United Nations has proclaimed 2016 to be the International Year of Pulses and established January 6th as a day to love and celebrate pulses.
Besides lentils, pulses also include chickpeas, beans and peas. They’re a great, inexpensive source of protein.
I’m glad lentils are finally getting their due! I’m a lentil-lover from way back. I have always loved this “tale” from Anthony de Mello:
“The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king. Said Aristippus, “If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.” Said Diogenes, “Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.”
My Cauliflower Red Lentil and Potato Curry is a spicy and flavorful way to love and celebrate the lentil.
Tips for cooking lentils:
- Red lentils cook very quickly and practically melt into the dish they’re in.
- If using brown or green lentils (which take longer to cook), you’ll need to adjust the cooking time. My recommendation would be to cook them separately then add them to the dish at the very end.
- No matter which type of lentil you use, it’s always a good idea to look them over for odd-looking bits, stones and stems. I spread them out on a white paper plate to look them over then bend the plate to guide them into the pot.
Now, you could go to the trouble of making your own curry spice blend, but I prefer to use a good blend such as a Madras curry from an Indian grocery store.
My Cauliflower Red Lentil and Potato Curry is the perfect recipe to play around with by varying or adding vegetables such as green beans or spinach, and for protein, chickpeas instead of potatoes would be perfect!
Happy International Pulse Day, everyone!
More Indian-inspired vegetarian and vegan curries:
- Zucchini, Red Lentil and Spinach Fritters with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
- Curried Roast Vegetables
- Vegan Indian Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
- Indian Root Vegetable Curry
Cauliflower Red Lentil and Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons canola oil, or coconut oil, divided
- 1 small head cauliflower, separated into florets
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 small bell pepper, green, red or yellow
- 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder, such as Penzeys
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (15-ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup red lentils, picked over
- 1 pound small Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss cauliflower with 2 tablespoons oil. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast until just tender, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large, shallow pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and pepper, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
- Add curry powder, ginger, garlic and stir 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes, vegetable broth, red lentils and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover slightly and simmer 15-20 minutes or until lentils and potatoes are tender.
- Stir in cauliflower and heat through.
- Add cilantro and season to taste with salt and black pepper
Notes
- You can also use brown or green lentils, however they take longer to cook than red. I suggest cooking them separately at least halfway, then adding them to the curry later.
- Can be prepared up to two days ahead.
- To reheat, heat on high in the microwave until hot, stirring halfway through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I made this recipe for my family. I am trying to do a non-meat meal once or twice a week. I modified your recipe a bit. I seasoned the cauliflower with masala seasoning. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable and I added 1/4 cup of whipping cream to create a smoother sauce. My kids had two helpings and liked it , my husband and I liked it as well.
Hi, Km, Thanks so much and happy you and the whole family enjoyed! Love that you’re doing meatless at least once a week! Be sure to try my Southwestern Lentil and Brown Rice Bake; it’s very popular especially with people wanting to incorporate meatless meals. Thanks again!
I can’t even count how many times I’ve made this recipe. I love it so much. I even got my midwestern father to enjoy a vegan meal. Everyone I cook it for wants more!
I wasn’t feeling too well and made this for dinner. I’m glad there were leftovers because this sat comfortably in my tummy.
I enjoyed the recipe, but it needed a more heat. I added some red pepper flakes after cooking. During cooking, I also added a broken up cinnamon stick. I chopped up the potatoes into a very small dice, but they did require cooking for longer than 20 minutes as directed. Add another 10 mins.
Hi, Carla, thanks so much and glad you enjoyed!
I made a half batch of this last night, but ended up using the full 2 tablespoons of curry powder because it did taste a bit bland with the proportional amount. However, I think this is a great starting point for something you can really play around with. Add different vegetables, try split peas instead of lentils, etc. I added a serrano pepper for spice. This recipe can be tweaked to satisfy almost any palate! I’m really happy I tried it and I’ve bookmarked the recipe for future use.
This dish was amazing! I made it as written and will add this to my favorite recipes.
Hi, Lucy, Thanks so very much and glad you enjoyed it! Hope you’ll stay in touch and try some of my other vegan and vegetarian dishes.
I made this curry for dinner last night and it was great! The roasted cauliflower adds a really nice texture. I followed the recipe exactly as written, other than adding 1 can of coconut milk in addition to the 2 cans of vegetable broth.
The one issue I had was that the potatoes were not tender after simmering for 15-20 mins. It took about 45-50 mins of simmering for my potatoes to be fork tender. Next time I make this I’ll probably cook the potatoes a little before adding them to the curry so that it doesn’t take as long.
Hi, Katie, Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed. 45-50 minutes to cook potatoes is a very long time! What size did you cut them? Yes, the potatoes could be cooked separately at a full rolling boil so they would not take that long. Thanks again!
Loved this recipe! I was looking all over for a potato, lentil, cauliflower curry. My friend can’t eat bell peppers so I added grated carrot and frozen peas at the end of the cooking time. I also added 3/4 of a can of coconut milk and some Thai red curry paste and salt. I pulled the grated carrot idea your Vegan Thai Red Curry with Cauliflower and Potatoes. Lovely dinner light and flavorful with a touch of heat. I will make this again!
Btw… your star rating system isn’t working or I would give this 5 stars!
Thanks so much, Laura! I’m in the process of updating each and every recipe to a new format that also includes a nutritional analysis so yeah, what’s there may not be fully functional because of the old format. So glad you enjoyed and hope to get this recipe updated very soon! Thanks again!
I made this tonight but I added a can of light coconut milk, amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Hi, Francesca, Thanks so much for your feedback! This is a super-versatile recipe and I love when my readers make a recipe their own. I like to say that a recipe is simply a road map and how one gets to the final destination is up to them. Glad you enjoyed and please stay in touch!